Top 10 Wedding Dessert Trends for 2021

August 4, 2021 / in Planning & Inspiration /by Victoria

Photography: White Cat Studio for The Maharani Diaries

Nothing makes me happier than dessert and so today, I’m thrilled to welcome my fellow foodie-lover and colleague, Victoria, of the fabulous London Ki Ladki to forecast the top 10 wedding dessert trends for 2021 and beyond!

Firstly, I’d like to go on record and say that 2021 is the “year of adjustment” for wedding couples and industry.

Already we have seen a shift in how couples not only plan their weddings, but also their menus.

Couples are now prepared to add their own unique flare to their wedding and food is without a doubt a top priority. The foundation of every great wedding after all is food, right? This is where it starts.

Whilst it’s tricky to predict trends under the current climate, we are simply highlighting a few dessert options that we have personally seen trending over the course of the year on the wedding front.

Take your seat and read on for our favourite wedding dessert trends.

1. The Mini-Cake

Farewell, picture-perfect, “Instagram-worthy” wedding cake. It’s time to welcome the mini cake. The mini dessert sized cake is fast becoming a popular trend amongst couples who are looking for a striking wedding cake alternative.

The mini cake is served as your dessert as opposed to a bite-size piece which often gets left behind on every guest’s table. This also goes to prove that the seated dinner is here to stay, as we see wedding guest numbers drop.

Photography: Emma Wright Weddings for The Maharani Diaries

2. Individual Treats

Following on from the mini cake, comes individual favours or treats. Once again, served at each place sitting, the individual dessert is often eaten at the wedding itself.

Edible wedding favours are always a hit with guests and why take it back home when you can eat it on the spot! Think mithai boxes (Indian sweets), macarons, mini cupcake, or cookies.

3. The Midnight Snack

One of the best things about hosting a regional or destination wedding, is the fact that you can make a weekend out of it. The midnight snack is a wedding dessert trend which will not be disappearing anytime soon.

Once you tuck the kids into bed, celebrate the midnight snack with your guests. Much loved childhood favourites such as waffles, hot chocolate, mousse, cheesecakes, tarts, apple pies can all be reimagined with a contemporary vibe. Create special memories whilst indulging in comforting favourites!

Glasses served with hot chocolate with marshmallows on the side

4. Plant-Based Desserts

Chefs and wedding caterers are reinventing the wheel when it comes to plant-based or vegan-friendly desserts.

The natural sweetness of vegetables is set to be used to facilitate sugar reduction in desserts, creating a new wave of innovative wedding desserts. Not only are vegetables working as a sugar replacement, but the power of “veg” is aiding couples with vegan diets.

The recent surge in flavour combos will see a lot of classic favourites being paired with unique ingredients. Today for example, chefs are combining sea salt with caramel and chilli with chocolate.

International desserts will take the forefront too such as Thai rolled ice cream, black sesame ice cream and the use of pandan which is widely used in desserts across South-East Asia, but all with a twist.

In terms of Indian desserts, we love seeing modern takes on the traditional classics such as kulfi and halwa. What better way to deliver an ultimate dessert experience than a dish that merges the best of both “food worlds” with a combination of sweet and savoury? Beetroot halwa anyone?

Photography: Saisha Photography for The Maharani Diaries Dessert: Beetroot halwa by The Modern Desi

6. Haute Dessert

The world of delivering high calibre weddings through food experiences has exponentially increased over the recent years with thanks to popular television shows such as Masterchef.

This is where the haute dessert makes an entrance.

May it be a plated dessert or an interactive molecular gastronomy display at your dinner table, this is a great way to increase engagement between your guests. A really great conversation starter!

Fancy Negroni cocktail served with cotton candy and mint garnish

7. The Dessert Cocktail

Dessert inspired cocktails (and mocktails) are set to feature prominently in 2021. We may see the use of more complex flavours to whip up creations such as sticky date martini or Vodka Sherbet. Are you hungry or thirsty yet?

Fragrant white tea will also make an appearance along with classic peach, lychee and raspberry flavours.

These sweet and boozy drinks will satisfy every adult sweet tooth.

Photography: The Maharani Diaries Desserts: Urban Tadka

8. Creative Cups

Nothing looks more presentable at your wedding function, than colourful and delectable dessert cups. As a bonus, they’re safe to eat because each one is an individual serving.

We love the idea of serving tiramisu or chocolate mousse in these or even mini crème brulee.

South Asian desserts such as gulab jamun and kulfi or even mini gulab jamuns can be served in these cups too and work a treat at pre-wedding events.

9. Dessert Carts

Break free from the donut wall or cupcake tower with the humble gelato cart. A popular feature at summer weddings, the dessert carts look incredibly stylish and makes your event incredibly memorable.

More recently, we’ve come across cannoli carts and even a brulee cart. How clever is that?!

10. The Dessert Wall

Perhaps the hottest wedding dessert trends is the dessert wall. No, not a dessert station or buffet, but a wall of desserts! We’ve seen this popping up at wedding industry engagement events and US weddings are one step ahead of us with this feature.

Dessert is served, but in an unconventional way.

Even amid Covid, you can still celebrate all things sweet related. Raise the bar high with these non-traditional dessert offerings and infuse your personality.

Tell us what your favourite trends are!

Victoria Das

Victoria Das is a full-time marketeer based in the UK and blogger by night at London Ki Ladki. Her successful blog focuses on Asian fashion, events, London dining and Bollywood. You can also follow her over on Instagram at @LondonKiLadki.

londonkiladki.com/

2 replies

La Table Events says:
August 7, 2021 at 12:12 am

interesting blog, keep posting
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Supriya Kutty says:
September 3, 2021 at 3:47 am

It is such a mouth-watering dessert post thank you so much for putting up this post. It’s my sister’s wedding next month and while I was taking an idea about the dessert on the net I came across this beautiful post by you and I really loved all the desserts putten up. Will surely take care to keep these desserts on the menu.
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